Well I am starting to get a feel for my way around the post. I have to attend a few briefings today and then I will spend some time getting more oriented with my surroundings. The base is really flat and everything is paved with gravel the size of baseballs and golfballs. It is difficult to walk around because the gravel is so big that you are constantly rolling your ankles over. It got over 80 degrees yesterday but during the night it is about 40. We don't have heat in our tent but I luggage arrived an hour ago so I have my sleeping bag now. The backdrop of the airfield is "3 mile" mountain which is named for obvious reasons. We are very high in elevation but in a valley. The mountain raises some 5000 additional feet above the airfield. In what i think was turkmenistan I saw what I think was the Hindu-Kush mountains from the north. The southern sky was almost entirely obscured by the mountains. they rose strait out of what looked like the great salt lake to unbelievable hieghts. The are one arm of the Himalayas and visually, to say the least, they do not dissapoint. The terrrain is barren and devoid of almost all life. It looks like Mars. The only critters are scorpions and snakes and Really REALLY big sand spiders. Evidently there are cobras and vipers here but I have only seen one little snake so far. All the buildings and structures are seemily random in there placement and construction. There is a monolithic lone hangar that was built by the russians and has been almost entirely destroyed by bombs. There is the Taliban's Last Stand which is I guess like the alamo. We have some HHC offices in there which is wierd because there is bullet holes in the walls and crumbling plaster holes in the ceiling. There is also countless building made of steel cargo containers and semi- permanent structures made of the crappiest plywood on earth. Everything is plywood, even joists and studs. The mix of forces is interesting. We are the last americans here. We will transition to UN coalition forces in the summer. There are romanians, dutch, australians, afghan nationals and of course the Canadians. The canadians are in controll of the post now. We fall ultimately under the Princess Patricia Light Infantry. Yeah thats what I thought too. silly canucks. I am running out of time but I will write again soon. Please Email.
Lots of love
-Bert
63 Years of Memories....
63 Years of Memories....
that's what I have now. The photo below shows the chair on the point which for so many years was my father's favorite after-supper place to contemplate and cast for walleye. As much as I feel guilty about what's happened, I know he would understand and even say there's nothing to forgive. He lived life fully and moved on many times. I'm the one with the unique experience of being attached to a beautiful place for my whole life. And despite all my best efforts, yesterday the 'cabin' was sold. I signed the papers and, truth be told, a weight was lifted. A new life lies ahead without the obligations, but with all of the wonderful memories. My unrelentingly positive attitude says this is truly how it is, but my heart is still sad.
There are some things in life for which the balance between the obligation and the joy of ownership often cannot be sustained forever. It became clear that I was no longer up to the task of taking care of the place quite a while back. However, knowing what needs to be done and doing it are often far apart. Finally, no choice was left. It had to be sold.
Now it's gone. No more worrying about how long the grass or how deep the snow is up there. No more sublimely pleasurable early morning cups of coffee sitting on the dock when the color of the lake is like pale blue glass and the air is completely still. No more endless repairs, high taxes, and utility bills. No more late nights around the fire pit with friends and family - warm from both fire and friendship. No more frozen pipes or emergency calls to the furnace guys. No more saunas and midnight skinny dipping that make you feel like you'll live forever while your connection with nature is confirmed by the gazillion stars of the milky way and the loons calling out in the dark. No more concerns with low well water levels or water so hard and full of iron the clothes turn yellow and your newly washed hair feels like brillo. No more finding the way home by boat in the dark after a long day on the lake feeling like this is the only place you really, really belong. No more praying that the boathouse will make it another year without collapsing. And ultimately, no more making new memories with friends, family and loved ones. No new memories, that is, at Half Bay, Lake Vermilion, Tower, MN. New life... here we come!
How do you thank a place for memories?
2 comments:
Your descriptions are really cool. Are you able to take any photos? Please, not of the spiders though!
As for your description of the buildings, it makes me think that war is the opposite of cooking. Cooking, you spend a lot of time doing it and then it's gone without a trace in a few minutes. War is done quickly and the leftovers stay forever.
I'm glad you're hooked up with your luggage - after all that hard work of picking and choosing and packing and repacking.
Say hi to Mr. Henderson for me and tell him to keep you safe and out of trouble. Have fun, tho while you're doing that! :)]
Hugs, Mom
Bert – Plywood for everything? Well when any man made or natural disasters occur make sure to get the fuck away from anything built with plywood studs. It sounds totally cool that there are all these different nationalities of people there. You can learn so much about all the different countries and cultures cause I bet they’ll have interesting stories to tell. Were the Hindu-Kush Mountains as beautiful as the National Geographic pics? Write soon and explain what your duties are going to be. I have to run now. Will write more soon! Luv-T
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